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Statistics: Historical

Colonial Period 1788 to 1900

The major official sources of Australian colonial statistics are available on microform. The Colonial Microfiche is available in the Newspaper and Microform Reading Room and in some State Library collections.

A Statistical Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia by T.A. Coghlan is also included in the Colonial Microfiche, and is available for download at the ABS website.

From 1901

The Historical microfiche series contains publications released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) since 1901 and publications issued by the State offices since 1984. An index to the microfiche series is also available.

Case Study

Prices in 1970

I am compiling a book for my 40th Class Reunion and would like to include some statistics of prices of food, houses, cars, fuel in Queensland in 1969-70 and the wages and salaries of both male and female workers in those years. Can you help me find this information?

We will need to consult different sources to find historical prices and wages:

We can also find average weekly earnings nationwide online at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, going back to 1967. Select the 'Past and Future Releases' tab.

Queensland Shopkeeper journal includes price lists in different categories. There are different prices for metropolitan and country areas for many products. There are also wage rates for shop assistants, caterers, cafe and restaurant employees and clerks Some examples, from July 1970:

We may also be able to find information from newspapers of the time, as advertisements will give some prices. The National Library and State Libraries have archived newspapers on microfilm, e.g. The Courier-Mail